We’ve now ventured another year into the ever-expanding universe of virtual reality, a medium that keeps charging forward with relentless creativity. Contrary to any fears of stagnation, VR has continued to grow and transform over the past decade, setting new benchmarks in the fields of gaming, artistic expression, and global connectivity.
The year 2024 has seen the fulfillment of many VR promises, making the technology’s potential clearer than ever. It’s not just about the big-budget AAA games, though those certainly add excitement. This year, we’ve also experienced the rise of bold indie games, each reinforcing the fact that VR is not just a small niche. Developers are discovering that there’s substantial profit to be made, appealing to both hardcore and casual gamers.
What stands out this year is a shift towards perfecting and refining the experience. Game creators are putting to use years of accumulated knowledge to propel VR into an era where comfort, immersion, and accessibility reign supreme. Whether it’s innovative game mechanics, unforgettable storylines, or visuals that place you truly within the game world, 2024 has given us much to appreciate—and much to anticipate.
And now, let me introduce the 2024 Game of the Year Awards from Road to VR:
Skydance’s Behemoth
Developer: Skydance Games
Available On: Quest, PSVR 2, PC VR
Release Date: December 5th, 2024
PC VR presents a unique platform. It offers a flexibility that other systems like the Quest and PSVR 2, despite their impressive optimizations, simply can’t match—the ability to maximize hardware output to achieve the finest graphical fidelity.
But true immersion goes beyond high-quality visuals. It’s about crafting worlds that resonate with the player, where non-playable characters are believable, sound design envelops the senses, and the environments invoke awe. Only a few VR games in history have pulled off this delicate balance as well as Skydance’s Behemoth.
It’s not surprising that Behemoth succeeds in so many facets of VR design, as the minds behind it also created The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners. That previous experience informs both Behemoth’s dynamic melee combat and the deep, immersive world-building fans have come to expect.
Before even facing your first towering adversary in Behemoth, the game encourages you to master various skills. From climbing and swinging with a grappling hook to perfecting your aim with a bow—the game offers numerous approaches to tackling challenges. Whether it’s upgrading one of the game’s three legendary weapons or improvising with enemy gear like katanas and massive buster swords, the options feel both meaningful and impactful.
With so many elements that embody what makes VR great, Behemoth becomes an unmissable experience, placing it firmly at the top of our PC VR list and our must-play list overall. Check out more in our detailed, spoiler-free review.
Batman: Arkham Shadow
Developer: Camouflaj
Publisher: Oculus Studios / Meta
Available On: Quest 3/S (exclusive)
Release Date: October 21st, 2024
Batman: Arkham Shadow is a title that could easily have never come to be. Reviving a franchise that hadn’t seen a mainline release for nearly a decade was a bold move, especially by a studio not previously involved with the series. And yet, Camouflaj not only brought it to life again but did so in a way that earned it our Quest Game of the Year for 2024.
The team didn’t just adapt an Arkham game to fit into VR; they reimagined what constitutes an Arkham experience, stripping down and rebuilding the gameplay mechanics to suit a virtual world.
Reinventing everything from the ground up, including the iconic Arkham combat, was no small feat. Batman’s signature style of fighting—gracefully moving between foes like a shadow—needed to be translated into VR, which Camouflaj achieved by devising a system that combines intuitive motion controls with elegant player movement.
The novel combat system evolves as you progress, where fluid and strategic fist swings propel you through enemy lines, ever increasing in complexity and delivering the full superhero experience by the game’s end. Such design challenges faced and overcome make Batman: Arkham Shadow one of the standout experiences on Quest to date.
Metro Awakening
Developer: Vertigo Games
Available On: PSVR 2, Quest, PC VR
Release Date: November 7th, 2024
For years, fans have speculated how the Metro series, known for its intense, atmospheric storytelling, would translate into virtual reality. In 2024, they finally got their answer with Metro Awakening, and it was well worth the wait.
It seems curious that with VR’s endless potential, players are drawn to the gritty, hopeless landscape of the Metro world. But thanks to Vertigo Games’ extensive VR experience, this grim setting becomes an engaging arena.
Bringing the soul of the Metro series into VR, the team at Vertigo Games adapted all the core elements while also designing completely new experiences unique to VR. Weapons, like the intricate crossbow and drum-loaded shotgun, stand out with their tactile interactivity and authenticity, blending perfectly with the series’ aesthetic of improvised munitions.
These weapons aren’t just visually striking; they feel incredibly satisfying to use against Metro’s realistically menacing yet vulnerable adversaries. Add in a smartly crafted, life-like inventory system that uses shoulder-mounted backpacks, and you find yourself in an experience that doesn’t just transport you—it immerses you.
Metro Awakening wins our Excellence in Immersion award for these thoughtful contributions to VR gaming, delivering an experience that stays with you long after you’ve set down the headset.
Starship Home
Developer: Creature
Available On: Quest 3/S (exclusive)
Release Date: September 26th, 2024
While big strides have been made in VR, its mixed reality (MR) future still holds untapped potential. Although MR has seen limited exploration as compared to VR, some titles are beginning to push the boundaries of what’s possible. Starship Home from Creature does just that.
A delightful mix of spaceship management and space-age gardening, Starship Home turns your physical surroundings into an extension of its gameplay. By intelligently using MR to create modules within your space, it redesigns how we interact with our environments, demonstrating how MR can enrich gaming experiences.
For its inventive approach, Starship Home represents a pivotal step in MR development, showing that MR can be as pivotal as VR in tomorrow’s gaming universe.
UNDERDOGS
Developer: One Hamsa
Available On: Quest, PC VR
Release Date: January 25th, 2024
This year, UNDERDOGS claims accolades for both Excellence in Locomotion and Excellence in Indie Development. Created by One Hamsa, who previously released the innovative Racket: Nx, UNDERDOGS perfectly illustrates the potential of innovative locomotion design in VR.
Where other games see locomotion as mere movement, UNDERDOGS transforms this aspect into an integral component of gameplay. Emulating the feel of wielding ‘arm-based locomotion’, players powerfully control mechs by physically maneuvering through virtual terrain—a mechanic as functional as it is entertaining.
The creative combination of movement and combat set in this game represents VR’s ability to draw players into its worlds, making UNDERDOGS a well-deserving double award winner.
Blade & Sorcery
Developer: Warpfrog
Available On: PC VR, Quest
Release Date: June 17th, 2024
From its viral beginnings as a physics-based combat sandbox, Blade & Sorcery has evolved under the steadfast guidance of developer ‘KospY’ and the growing team at Warpfrog. After six years of impactful updates, their 1.0 version delivers the much-anticipated storyline, ‘Crystal Hunt’, rounding off the game with a cohesive narrative and broader world.
Completing the game doesn’t mean an end to Warpfrog’s journey in VR, as their next project promises to harness everything learned from Blade & Sorcery. This full-circle achievement earns Blade & Sorcery recognition for Ongoing Development Excellence.
Trombone Champ: Unflattened!
Developer: Flat2VR Studios, Holy Wow Studios
Publisher: Flat2VR Studios
Available On: Quest, PC VR, PSVR 2
Release Date: November 26th, 2024
What started as a viral sensation, Trombone Champ, eventually found its way into VR thanks to the innovative efforts of Flat2VR Studios. Renowned for transforming flat games into elaborate VR adaptations, it’s no surprise their new title Trombone Champ: Unflattened! was met with resounding success.
By translating the rhythmical and humorous elements into a three-dimensional experience, Flat2VR unleashed a game that retains the essence of the original while skillfully enhancing it for virtual realms. This leap in playability and enjoyment is a testament to Flat2VR’s expertise in VR adaptations.
Note: To be eligible for Road to VR’s Game of the Year Award, games must be publicly available by December 20th, 2024, and fully compatible with the target platform.
